Greatest Need

February 23, 1986

Although it is the Orange City Police Department that is once again making headlines with its legally questionable and clumsy behavior, the city's problems go much deeper.

City council meetings are free-for-alls where charges fly and little gets accomplished. The police department is stumbling along with its chief recently admitting that he fixed traffic tickets. The state attorney is investigating whether city officials violated public records laws by destroying or hiding records about a traffic case involving State Sen. Edgar Dunn. In the midst of this, council members appointed to the board of adjustments -- which hears zoning violation cases -- a businessman who has been cited for zoning violations. A council member said she approved the appointment because of the businessman's familiarity with zoning problems. He has now been removed from the board.

This is no way to run a city. Orange City needs a professional manager to run its day-to-day operations. It needs a city manager.

The problem in doing that lies in the city charter, which makes the mayor the city's chief administrative officer. Department heads -- including the police chief -- report to the mayor. Voters have four times rejected a charter revision to have a city manager form of government. Recent events should show voters that it is time to make a change.

The mayor and city council members are elected officials who should set policy for the city. They should not be involved in day-to-day operations. That should be done by someone trained for the job -- a city manager. As much as the city needs a professional now, it will need one more in the future.

Although the council and mayor cannot handle existing problems, they are embarking on an annexation plan to increase the city's size by more than 80 percent. The city is also trying to buy a private utility system. These plans should come to a halt until Orange City solves its current problems. The best way to do that is to hire a city manager.